Aleksander Emelianenko scores KO victory at M-1 Challenge 9

Heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (14-3), who was expected to last compete in July for “Affliction: Banned” before he was pulled from the card for still-mysterious reasons, today scored a first-round knockout of South Korean prospect Sang Soo Lee (10-5).

The fight took place at M-1 Challenge 9 in St. Peterburg, Russia.

Emelianenko used an early right hook to floor Lee in the opening minutes of the first round.

It was Emelianenko’s fifth consecutive victory; all have come via first-round stoppage. Meanwhile, the loss snapped a string of four consecutive wins for Lee, a veteran of the SpiritMC and DEEP organizations.

Emelianenko, a PRIDE veteran and the younger brother of current WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, is generally considered one of the world’s top-15 heavyweights with past wins over Assuerio Silva, Sergei Kharitonov, Eric Pele and others.

Back at “Banned,” Emelianenko was set to make his American fight debut against Paul Buentello. However, he was pulled from Affliction’s debut event just seconds before he was set to weigh in for the fight and was eventually replaced by Gary Goodridge in the FSN-televised fight.

The California State Athletic Commission stated that 27-year-old Emelianenko failed to meet licensing requirements, though officials could not divulge the reason why due to privacy regulations. Although it was widely reported that Emelianenko had tested positive for Hepatitis B, his camp has repeatedly denied the claims when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

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Kiril Sidelnikov, who next meets Buentello in the Jan. 24 “Affliction: Day of Reckoning” HDNet featured bout, also picked up a victory at M-1 Challenge 9.

“Baby Fedor,” a Red Devil fighter and teammate of Fedor Emelianenko, defeated Jang Yong Kim (2-3) with a quick and efficient first-round TKO. Sidelnikov delivered a barrage of punches until his corner threw in the towel.

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